There are two different kinds of bass players.
The ones who set up next to you so they can
see your bass drum pedal, and when they play,
they lock with your drum parts, and others that
don’t care about your bass drum pattern and
ignore what the drummer is playing.
The first group plays “with” the drummer,
and the second group plays “around” the
drummer. The same principle applies to many
percussionists.
There are percussionists that listen to the
drummer and graciously stay out of your way,
and simply embellish and compliment your
drum parts, and there is another group that just
play all over and drive the drummer nuts!
I call the second group “frustrated drummers”
because
they
play
the
percussion
like
drummers, and don’t understand that in Pop
music the drummer is the bus driver and the
[Todd] I think the key to this lies in the way you
percussionist is the passenger.
It is different in Afro-Cuban and Afro Brazilian
music but in most contemporary Pop, Rock,
Country and R&B music the bus driver is the
drummer! Of course, the arranger may have a
different idea for any specific arrangement but I
use that principle as my rule of thumb.
“Finesse is one
of my favorite
of it like one rhythm part. Each player allowing
space for the other facilitates more interesting
I continue to learn and re-learn is that space
doesn’t always have to be filled. This mindset
playing!”
gets you out of your comfort zone and inspires
- Todd
colleague, the great Brazilian percussionist
drum kit and percussion part as separate, think
possibilities musically. One of the lessons that
things about
I remember once listening to my friend and
look at the song. Instead of thinking about the
creativity.
[Alex] Tell us about the often-overlooked
Airto Moreira, share his first conversation with
role of “finesse” in drumming? When playing
Miles Davis after his first rehearsal with the
on the snare. Anything where you’re making percussion, how do you work in the subtle
the groove feel thicker by doubling parts. “coloring” of a song when you are working
Airto was one of the very first Latin percussionist Sometimes I do this with sampled sounds too. alongside a drummer?
to join the Miles Davis band and there were no Playing “around” the drummer is finding the specific percussion parts for the music, so “gaps” in the groove and filling it in. Or it could [Todd] Finesse is one of my favorite things
he asked Miles for his opinion after their first be a pattern that weaves in and out of what the about playing. The way you hit the drum, brush
rehearsal, and Miles replied, “I specially loved drummer is playing. I do this more with hand the cymbal, shake the shaker, or strum the
what you did not play” Got it! drums or multiple percussion set ups to fill in strings is where the magic happens! The more
the drum groove. It could even be as simple as comfortable you become with the instrument
[Carl] Playing “with” the drummer is copying play 8 note shaker parts, accenting the “&” of the more prominent your style or finesse is
the same groove parts that they are playing. the count while the drummer is playing ¼ note noticed. This is a journey for a player and your
For instance: playing 8 th note shaker and hitting accents on the hi-hat or bell of a cymbal. Again, style doesn’t happen overnight, it happens
2 & 4 on the tambourine while the drummer it all depends on what works for the music. over a lifetime of exploration and response to
Miles Davis band.
th
is playing 8 notes on the hi-hat and 2 & 4
something much bigger and more powerful
th
November 2019
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